Missing moments
by CG3894
Summary: The missing scenes between Stella and Kelly during season 6 that we all wished happened.
1. Chapter 1

Stella left the common room after talking with Mouch, feeling slightly better about the idea of moving to PR. As she turned to head back to the bunk room, she ran right into Kelly. He reached out to grab her and steady her. "Hey, I woke up to get some water and couldn't help but notice your empty bunk. Everything okay"? She sighed, clearly not knowing what to say to him. "I don't think I'm processing the fact that next shift I won't be working here anymore. I don't know what to think". He looked at her, her expression showing how torn up she was over this. "Stella, we're going to figure this out. Casey and Boden aren't going to leave you there. They'll find a way to get you back". "I hope you're right, because I can't help but wonder what will happen if I am stuck there for more than just a few shifts. What if I am stuck there for years"? She began to trail off, not wanting to verbalize every worse case scenario she had pictured so far. She looked away from him as tears began to form, she was heartbroken over having to leave the only true family she has ever been a part of.

He reached out for her, gently lifting her face back up so he could look into her eyes. "Stella, listen to me and trust me when I say that this is not permanent. I'm not giving up on you that easily, and neither is anyone else in this house". She looked at him and she knew she could listen to him. He has always had her back before, there's no reason to believe this should be any different now. She slowly nodded her head and gave him a soft smile, the one she saved only for him. "Thanks Kelly. I do trust you, I just don't trust that there's anything else to be done". He didn't know what else to say anymore, so he surprised both of them by pulling her into a hug. Despite her initial surprise she couldn't help but melt into him and hug him back. It was over all too soon, broken up by the sound of Mouch making his way back to the bunk room. He raises his eyebrows at the sight of the two of them together, but didn't say anything as he continued to walk past the pair. She pulled away, and he gave her arm a reassuring squeeze as she headed back to bed and he continued on his way for the glass of water that had brought him out of bed in the first place.

Stella went back to her bunk and got back into bed, overcome with a feeling of gratitude. For working with people who she knew would fight to get her back on the front lines were she belonged. For having worked in the best firehouse in the city, even if her time here was finished. And most importantly, she was grateful for Kelly and the friendship the two of them had. After their short lived friends with benefits stage, she was worried about losing him as a friend and was relieved when she realized that wasn't going to happen. She knew that after her first day in PR she would get to go home to Kelly and he would be waiting to here about it and reassure her that everything would be okay. She found her self smiling despite the chaos that seemed to be happening in every aspect of her life. Kelly truly was the one constant in her life, the one she could always count on. Even when everything was happening with Grant and she chose to distance herself from Kelly, she knew if she called him at any hour of the day he would be there. She rolled over in bed, seeing him walk back into his office but not before glancing over at her. With one shared smile between the two, they both fell asleep with thoughts of what could be playing in each of their minds.

The night came and went without any calls, and Stella did her best to hurry out with having to go through any goodbyes. She left the firehouse, finding Kelly leaning on his car waiting for her. "Want to get breakfast? I'm buying". Even though all she wanted was to go home and continue her pity party, she couldn't turn down time with Kelly. Nodding her head in agreement, she climbed into his car. Minutes later, she found herself laughing at a story Kelly told her, somehow he had managed to take her mind off of the chaos in her life. Pulling up in front of their favorite diner, they both got out of the car and headed in. Stella found herself smiling, forgetting how upset she was only hours before. Even though she might not be working in 51 for now, she felt lucky that the person most important to her at 51 was who she would be able to go home to every day. Kelly often wondered about what could've been between her and Stella had Grant not torn them apart the year before, but he knew that now their friendship was stronger than ever which may not have happened had things stayed the way they were. Stella was one person in his life who he could not lose, and if that meant staying as friends he would take it. Both hoped that maybe someday done the road, things would evolve into more than a friendship. But for now, they knew nothing had to be rushed, because anything good was worth waiting for.


	2. Chapter 2

6x15 one shot:

Kelly stood outside the house, feeling panic take over as he heard the gun shots going off. He felt helpless as he heard Stella's voice over the radio calling out for help. Trying to convince Boden to let him go in was unsuccessful, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. Taking his chance as Boden turned around, he ran towards the house, determined to get to Stella. He ran up the stairs without a care for himself, finding his way to the bedroom where Otis and Stella where. He felt a relief wash over him as he saw Stella, scanning her for any injuries. He knew how lucky she got when he noted a bullet lodged in her radio.

After lowering Otis out of the window, he grabbed Stella and guided her down the stairs, willing to be a shield for her from any additional bullets that might come flying their way. After getting out of the house they joined the rest of the house as the watched Brett and Dawson stabilize Otis and load him into the ambulance. As soon as Otis was loaded into 61, Stella felt a rush of pain in her chest as the adrenaline began to wear off. Kelly saw the look in her face, and was at her side in a moment. "Hey, what is it? Are you okay"? She bent over, trying to find any position to alleviate her pain. He grabbed her arm before she could fall to the floor, calling out to Boden. "Hey Chief, we need a second ambulance". "No, no I'm fine. Really, it's probably just a bruised rib". Kelly looked at her, he would've laughed at how stubborn she is if it weren't for the intensity of the moment. "Stella, this is not up for discussion. Either you get in the ambulance or I talk to Casey about sending you home for the rest of the shift". With a sigh, she nodded her head in agreement with him.

Minutes later, a second ambulance arrived. Kelly hadn't left Stella's side, the two of them resting on the curb outside the house. The pain had set in completely now for Stella, making every breath and movement difficult. Kelly stood, helping Stella up and guiding her over the ambulance. Everything inside of him had to fight the urge to pull Stella towards him and hold her tightly. He resisted, only because he knew it would cause her more pain and hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do. Kelly stood by while the paramedics looked over her, listening as she described what happened. The paramedics loaded her into the ambulance, telling Kelly they would bring her to Chicago Med. As much as he wanted to get in the ambulance with her, he knew that they were already down 3 firefighters since Cruz had rode along with Otis and there was no way Boden would let him go. "I'll meet you there when we finish up here, okay"? Stella smiled at him, grateful to him for looking out for her. "Take your time. I'm okay, I promise". Kelly smiled back at her before turning and heading back to the house to join in knocking the fire down. About an hour later, they finished and headed towards Chicago Med. Kelly knew that Otis was fighting for his life, and couldn't help but feel slightly guilty for the happiness he felt knowing that Stella was okay.

As the rest of 51 was finishing up at the house fire, Stella arrived in the ED to be examined. She insisted she was fine, but knew that if she wanted to return to duty for the rest of the shift she would need to get the all clear first. After checking in with Maggie and filling out the necessary paper work, Will Halstead entered her room to examine her. After a chest x-ray and physical exam, he determined that bedsides some bruised ribs Stella was okay. She knew she should be happy to hear that, but all she felt was guilt. Guilt that Otis was fighting for his life while she would walk away fine, when there was no reason why the roles couldn't have been reversed. A few tears escaped, and despite how quickly she wiped them away Will noticed anyway. "Stella, are you in pain? I could get the nurse to give you something if you need it". She shook her head, the pain was there but she could deal. She needed something else, she just didn't know what. Her mind seemed to decide for her, an imagine of Kelly flashing through her head. "No, I'm not in pain. Can you release me? Or if I can't be released, can you go see if Kelly is here yet"? "I'm not ready to release you just yet, I still need to do your paperwork. But I can certainly see if Kelly is here".

Stella shook her head, she was willing to stay for a little bit longer if she could have Kelly with her. She took a few deep breaths, wiping away the last of her tears. Moments later, she heard someone entering her room. Turning her head, she was disappointed to see it wasn't Kelly but instead Boden. "Dr. Halstead tells me you are clear to return to duty. Everyone else should be here soon, I left the house fire as they were packing up the trucks". Stella felt some of the disappointment fade knowing that Kelly wasn't here yet and hadn't sent Boden back to see her in his place. "Any word on Otis? I keep asking the doctors and nurses but no one seems to know". "We are all in the same boat, just waiting to here". The nurse entered, telling Stella she was free to go, instructing her to ice her ribs and take Motrin for the pain.

Boden guided her to the waiting room, where the rest of 51 stood waiting. Kelly watched as Hermann pulled her into a hug, never feeling so envious of another person than he was of Hermann right now. Stella scanned the room, finding Kelly leaning against the wall with his eyes glued on her. The two began to walk slowly towards each other, wanting nothing more than to melt into each others arms. Before that could happen, they were interrupted by Boden coming between them. With a parting glance at her, Kelly followed Boden out of the room. Stella moved away, knowing that Kelly wouldn't want her to overhear Boden disciplining him.

All she wanted, no all she needed, in that moment was for Kelly to pull her into a hug and she knew she would feel better instantly. They may only be friends, but he was the arguably the most important person in her life. She didn't have much family besides her 51 family, so it wasn't always the easiest for her to let people get close. But Kelly had managed to prove himself time after time to her, not even getting scared off when everything happened with Grant, and letting her in after Anna had died. After Cruz returned from seeing Otis, Boden ordered everyone back to the house. Not being able to resist any longer, Kelly took his chance as he saw Stella walking away from him. Reaching out to her from behind, he pulled her aside from the group and brought his arms around her. Completely giving in to him, she melted into his arms and tightly held onto him. Despite how terrible the last few hours were, both couldn't deny how good they felt right now. Maybe they were just friends, and maybe it would evolve into something more. Whatever they were to each other, nothing felt better than being wrapped up together in that moment.


	3. Chapter 3

Kelly paced back and forth in his apartment, not knowing what to do. He had been fighting his growing feelings for Stella for a few weeks now, and seeing her trapped in the fire did nothing to help. He had heard her getting ready this morning before heading to Molly's to do inventory, and stayed in his room until he heard her leaving. The two of them could've been in Milwaukee now, but Kelly had put an end to that plan, using Otis being hurt as the excuse. Kelly knew that wasn't the reason why just as much as Stella did.

They had been dancing around each other for weeks, Stella trying to use Zach as way to cover her growing attraction towards him and Kelly doing whatever he could to bury his feelings. Kelly thought about Stella with Zach, and realized that if things kept going the way they were it could happen again with a different guy. And this time, he might not get so lucky by it ending after a few weeks. With a new determination, Kelly pulled his jacket on and headed out, Molly's as his destination. He had no plan, hoping that seeing Stella would clear things up for him.

Across town, Stella did her best to let the normalcy of doing inventory at Molly's cheer her up. If she was being honest, getting stuck with Otis had scared the hell out of her. She easily could've been the one in his position, and she also just as easily could've been shot too if her radio wasn't in the place it was to catch the bullet. What was worse was how Kelly treated her after everything that happened. There was a brief moment in the hospital where he began to approach her, and she was ready to fall into his arms. But Boden stepped between them, killing whatever hopes they had for the moment to continue.

Grabbing the clipboard that Hermann had left for her, Stella began to read over it and see what needed to be done. She played music from her phone, and soon she was quickly making her way through the what needed to be inventoried. Hearing the door open, she realized in her distracted state this morning she forgot to lock it after letting herself in. Turning around, she began to tell whoever it was that they were closed before seeing Kelly standing there.

She addressed him, surprised to see him. He asked her about getting lunch, and then began to leave. But she wasn't about to let him run away from her again. Pleading with him to explain what was going on with him, Kelly wished he could turn and leave, not wanting to talk about his emotions. But seeing the look of desperation in her eyes and hearing the emotion in her voice had him walking right towards her instead. He was never one to tell people how he felt, he was all about action. And that's what he did- showed her how he felt.

Later on, Stella sat on the bar as she watched Kelly grab their discarded clothes from the floor. He didn't see the need for them to get dressed, but she told him that Hermann was planning on stopping by later on which had him quickly jumping up and pulling on his clothes. Looking over at her, he took a moment to take her in. Her long curly hair covered her chest, and she sat leaning back on her hands. "I don't think I'll be able to come here again, because every time I do I'm just going to picture you just like that in my head". She laughed, jumping down from the bar to put her clothes back on. After they were both fully dressed, she reached up to him and kissed him deeply. He was about to lift her back onto the bar for round two, but the sound of someone opening the door had them both pulling away from each other.

Hermann greeted them, raising an eyebrow at the two them. "So what happened Stella, you forgot how to do inventory so you had to call Kelly to help you"? Stella pointed towards the clipboard, which she somehow managed to get halfway through before Kelly arrived. "I got half of it done. I figured you could do the rest, especially since I know you recheck what I do anyway".

She reached for her car keys and phone, moving towards the door with Kelly following closely behind her. "I'll see you later Hermann. Something tells me I won't be leaving my apartment before next shift". Hermann laughed at the two of them, waving them out the door. He was happy to see them together, they were good for each other.

Kelly tried to get Stella to come home in his car, but she insisted they both take their cars back home. Once she reminded him that her car being left behind would only mean them leaving bed later to come get it, he agreed to take both of their cars home. After a 10 minute drive, Stella pulled into a spot outside their building, Kelly quick to come and open her door for her. "How did you get here so fast? I didn't see you once we left Molly's". He laughed at her before grabbing her hand, leading her upstairs as she eagerly followed.

They were barely in the apartment before Kelly had Stella up against the door, covering her face and neck with kisses. Stella pulled at Kelly's jacket, pushing it off of him to the floor before doing the same with his shirt. He ripped her shirt off, before lifting her into his arms and carrying her to his bedroom. It wasn't long before the remaining clothes were quickly shed and thrown onto the floor. Stella reached for Kelly, digging her nails into his back as he entered her. Somehow, it felt even better than it did a couple of hours ago.

Later on, the two of them laid next to each other in bed. "This is a little weird, isn't it"? Kelly looked at Stella with surprise written on his face. "Not for me". She laughed, stroking his cheek to reassure him. "I don't mean us being together. I mean that we live together, and now anytime I want you I only have to walk down the hall. It's nice, really".

He pulled her closer, layering light kisses over her face. "Just for the record, I will never oppose you wanting me. Anytime of the day, I'm your guy". She leaned over, her hair tickling his chest as it went in every direction. "I hope you're ready, because I'm planning on taking full advance of living together".


	4. Chapter 4

6x17 one shot:

Truck pulled back into 51 after squad, having waited for all of the kids to be picked up. Kelly stood while he watched Stella inside the truck, still dressed in her wet clothes from having hopped in the pool. He offered a hand to her as she stepped out of the truck, the child who wasn't picked up still holding tightly to Stella.

"Hey buddy, why don't you and me go see if there's any snacks in the kitchen? I'm sure you're hungry after all that swimming", Casey asked, giving Stella the chance to change into dry clothes. The young boy looked nervously at Stella, not wanting to leave her side.

"It's okay, I'll come find you soon. I just need to change out of my wet clothes". With a little encouragement from Stella, he accepted Casey's hand and followed him into the kitchen.

Kelly looked Stella up and down, laughing at her disheveled appearance. "You know Stella, if you really wanted to go swimming I think my gym has an indoor pool".

She shoved him lightly, not amused with his teasing. "What can I say, I had to step up to the plate since all the big strong squad guys were otherwise occupied".

He pulled a towel that he had in his locker from the squad table, wrapping her up tightly and ran his hands up and down her arms. Shivering from the sudden contact, Stella couldn't help but lean into him.

"Why don't you go take a shower to warm up before 81 gets another call? I'll grab you some dry clothes and meet you in there". She looked at him with gratefulness in her eyes, feeling lucky to have someone like him looking out for her.

After the water began to run cold and no longer served to warm Stella, she turned off the water and wrapped herself in the towel that was hanging outside the stall.

Stepping outside, she was surprised to see Kelly waiting for her, spotting her extra uniform in his hands. Raising her eyebrows at him, she stepped towards him. "You know, if you wanted to see something you could've just joined me".

He laughed, shaking his head at her. "Nah, as much as I wanted to I knew you had to warm up. I know the warm water doesn't last long around here". She accepted the clothes from his hands, turning to walk out of the shower area. He stayed put, watching her go.

Throwing a glance at him over her shoulder, she addressed him. "Aren't you coming with me"? He happily followed her, laughing as she somehow managed to get dressed without dropping her towel.

When he reminded her that he had already seen everything, she shrugged her shoulders and told him that he lost his chance and could've seen all of her when she was in the shower.

Throwing his head back and groaning, she laughed at his reaction. She leaned into him, brushing her lips against his softly. "Thanks for waiting for me when I got back. It was nice to get back to the house and see you there".

He brushed a kiss against her forehead, running a hand through her wet hair. "I'll always be waiting for you to get back. You know that, right"? She nodded, that was pretty much the only thing she knew. "Same goes for me. Always".

Before she could completely fall into him, the sound of footsteps broke up the moment. Turning towards the entrance of the locker room, they saw the young boy entering with Casey following behind.

"Someone wanted to see his favorite firefighter". Stella smiled at her new shadow, crouching down to run her hand over his head. Luckily he had a backpack with him at the pool so he got changed into dry clothes before 81 left the pool.

"So I think if we look around enough, we can find some games for you to play. Does that sound good"? He smiled up at Stella, clearly attached to the firefighter who saved his life.

Kelly crouched down to the young boys level too. "Hey buddy, I'm Kelly. I don't know if you remember me from the pool, but I'm a firefighter too".

The young boy looked up at him with awe, taken aback by all the firefighters he met in one day. Standing up, Stella reached for the boys hand to lead him to the conference room. To the surprise of both Kelly and Stella, the young boy grabbed Kelly's hand too and let the pair lead him to the bullpen.

Casey watched with a smile on his face, not being able to help himself as he thought to himself about how much Kelly had grown in the many years he's known him. Kelly always had a soft spot for kids, but seeing him with a child and woman by his side was an image Casey never would've thought he'd see.

Heading to the common room, Stella and the boy sat down at a table while Kelly left to find the box of games they kept at the firehouse for when kids visited. Kelly returned later with a box of games and toys as well as a cup of coffee for Stella, and soon the trio began to play a game of chutes and ladders, laughter filling the room.

Unfortunately the fun was broken up after a few games by squad being called to a car accident. Kelly couldn't help himself as he left, laying a kiss on Stella's head and giving her shoulder a squeeze.

As Stella watched him go, she decided to bring the boy to the bullpen incase truck was called to a scene too, not wanting to leave the boy alone and scared by her running off suddenly. Pulling a coloring book and crayons from the box of toys, she set him up in an empty desk in the bullpen near Otis. She told the boy where he could find her, and headed back to the common room.

When she entered, she felt the eyes of everyone on her back. Spinning around she shot everyone a look. "What are you all looking at"? The members of truck shared a look, before Hermann was the one to speak up.

"Nothing. It's just nice seeing you and Severide being all domesticated, even if the kid isn't yours". She rolled her eyes, turning away as everyone laughed at her. She doubted that she could ever see herself ready to have kids, but what she did know was that Kelly was one thing in her life that she never would doubt.


	5. Chapter 5

6x18 one shot:

Stella paced back and forth in the common room, unable to relax knowing that Kelly had gone ahead and put himself in a completely dangerous situation. Dawson and Brett watched her from the couch, sharing a look of worry for their friend.

They knew that as much as Stella could swear up and down that her relationship with Kelly was nothing serious and was just sex, it meant more than that to both of them. Both Kelly and Stella had their fair share of previous relationships like that, and this was different.

Dawson approached Stella, putting a hand on her shoulder. Stella jumped at the contact, clearly lost in her thoughts. "Stella, honey, why don't you sit down? Kelly will be fine, he has half of the Feds in there with him. Plus Casey knows I'll kill him if anything happens to either of them".

Stella looked at Dawson like she was crazy, beginning to pace again. "I'm not worried about Kelly. I'm just pacing because", she trailed off, not being able to think of an excuse for why she had practically burned a hole in the common room floor in the minutes since Kelly left.

"Okay fine, maybe I am worried. What's wrong with that?", she asked defensively. "Nothing's wrong with that Stella. I would be just as worried if Casey did something like that when we our relationship was new. Now I still worry, but time has lead me to realize that he can take care of himself, and my worrying doesn't help him".

"Okay but that's when you're wrong. This isn't like you and Casey". Brett and Dawson shared a look of amusement, not helping Stella's current state. "Hey, what was that look about"?

Brett nudged Dawson, she was the one better at telling people what they needed to hear. "Stella, you're right by saying this isn't like me and Casey because every relationship is different. But you're not giving the two of you enough credit by refusing to call what the two of you have a real relationship. Kelly has grown a lot, and I see it in how he acts around you. And you can't deny that there's very few other people who could have you acting like that because of a dangerous situation".

Stella processed Dawson's words, nodding her head to agree. "Okay maybe you're right, but I can't admit it to you before I admit it to myself first".

Before Dawson could say anything else, Boden entered the room. "I just received word that the operation went off without any issues. The Feds currently have the suspects in custody, and Kelly and Casey are okay. Dawson and Brett, head over to make sure no one needs your medical attention".

Stella watched with envy as Dawson and Brett headed out the door, knowing she would have to wait a little longer to see Kelly. Before Dawson left, she turned around to Boden. "Hey Chief, a lot of people live over there. Could Stella come along to help? We might need the extra set of hands". Boden nodded his head in agreement, Stella quickly following Brett and Dawson before he could change his mind.

Moments later, ambulance 61 arrived outside the apartment buildings. Stella and Dawson scanned the crowd for any firefighters before spotting Kelly and Casey inside the lobby. Brett nodded them towards the building while she made her way through the crowd, searching for anyone requiring medical help.

Stella had to resist the urge to run into Kelly's arms as she followed Dawson inside. Kelly looked up at the sound of the door opening, smiling brightly at the sight of Stella approaching. She couldn't help but smile back and she scanned him for any injuries, the only one she noted was a small bruise on his forehead.

She reached for his face, running a gentle finger across the bruised area. "Keep doing that Stella, I think I'll feel a lot better in no time". She laughed, about to respond before Brett entered and announced that there were no injuries among those outside the building.

With that, Casey called out to everyone to load up the truck and head back to 51. Pulling her in before anyone could notice, Kelly whispered into Stella's ear to meet him in the turnout room later. She felt a shiver run through her and nodded her head in agreement.

With one final glance between the two, Kelly headed back towards truck 81 as Stella jumped into 61 with Brett and Dawson. Both Brett and Dawson could feel the difference in Stella's mood now that she knew Kelly was okay and saw him with her own two eyes.

After pulling into the firehouse a few minutes later, everyone got to work to put everything back to how it was before the Feds arrived. Between everyone working quickly and the lack of extra people around the house, everything was back to normal in no time.

Boden gathered everyone in the common room, telling everyone that they were now back to normal duty as of now. Everyone cheered, happy to have things back to normal.

Kelly looked around the room for Stella, finding her already looking right at him. With a shared glance and a nod of his head, both were leaving the common room with the turn out room as their destination.

She entered the room moments after him, feeling pulled from behind as he guided her into his hard chest. She spun around, throwing her arms around him and burying her head in his neck. He held her close, running a hand through her hair and layering her forehead with kisses.

Kelly had seen the look on her face as she entered the apartment, and he suspected that she needed a little comfort from him right. All he knew was that the entire time he had a gun pressed to his back, she was what was on his mind. He heard Stella say his name, and she surprised both of them by what she said next.

"I was worried about you. Don't ever try to save the world like that again". He ran a hand through her hair and kissed her gently on the cheek. "Okay, from now on its only burning buildings for both of us". She laughed, nodding her head in agreement before laying her head on his chest again and bringing her arms around his chest to grip his shirt.

He held on to her tightly, both needing more comfort from the other person before rejoining the rest of the members of the house. Stella thought over the words that Dawson had said earlier, and she realized that this was more to her than just a casual fling. Maybe that's what it was last time they were together, but she wasn't willing to let him go so easily this time.


	6. Chapter 6

6x19 one shot:

Kelly lifted Stella, spinning around and dropping the two of them onto her bed. He knew he had to be quick if they were going to make it to work on time. Lucky for him, he didn't need to waste anytime undressing Stella since she just got out of the shower.

Reaching blindly for her bedside table, Kelly pulled a condom from the box she kept in the drawer. He loved a lot of things about Stella, one of them being how prepared she always was. Before they were together he had made fun of her for always having a box in her room, but now that he was the one to benefit he had no complaints.

Stella shifted underneath Kelly, parting her legs to give him easy access. Leaning into her, Kelly had her throwing her head back as she was overcome with bliss a few moments later. She dug her hands into his back, wanting to get as close to him as possible.

Taking a few deep breaths, Kelly put his arms around Stella and adjusted their position so they were laying next to each other. Before she could get completely wrapped up in him, Stella pushed away from him and got out of bed.

"Hey, where are you going? I'm not ready to let you go yet"? She almost caved and crawled back into bed, but looking at the clock had her throwing clothes on instead. "Kelly! We're going to be late, get dressed".

He groaned before slowly getting out of bed and putting his clothes back on. Kelly really didn't care about himself being late, but he didn't want to cause Stella to be late. He left her to finish throwing clothes in her bag, going to the kitchen and pouring coffee for in her favorite travel mug.

She ran into the kitchen a minute later, now fully dressed with her hair running down her chest. She smiled at him gratefully and accepted the coffee from him. "You're driving, because of you I didn't have time to fix my hair this morning". He threw his bag over his shoulder, laying an arm over her shoulder and leading her to his car.

Kelly sped to the firehouse, now doubting that he and Stella would be on time. If you asked either of them if they cared about being late, both would say no after the morning they had. Stella could've stayed in bed with Kelly all day, but responsibilities called.

Parking a block away from the house, the two of them hurried out of the car and began to head in to work. Kelly reached for Stella's arm, guiding her into his side. Stella responded by happily curling into him, wanting to get a few more moments with him before their shift started.

As they approached the firehouse, the sight of them stumbling in together just before the start of their shift raised more than a few eyebrows. Neither seemed to care or notice, too wrapped up in the other person.

Kelly whispered something in her ear about finishing what they started this morning in his office, causing her to throw her head back and laugh. It wouldn't be the first time they've made use of his office, and it certainly wouldn't be the last time.

They both walked to the locker room, both of them needing to change into their uniform after having thrown on the first clothes they could find this morning in their rush to get to work in time.

As the walked towards the locker room, Brett said good morning to the pair as the walked bye. Honestly, Brett was surprised either of them noticed her with how they were looking at each other.

Both of them changed into their uniforms quickly, stealing more than one glance at the other person. "I'm going to get breakfast. Join me"? Kelly happily followed Stella, but not before pulling her into his office. Before she could ask him what he was doing, he leaned in for a deep kiss that had both of them wishing they had more time this morning.

Stella pulled away after a few moments, laying her hands on her chest. "How much furlough do you have saved up? Because I'm thinking me and you away from here sounds about perfect right now". He smiled at her, but before he could respond the bells went off calling both squad and truck to an apartment building fire.

Stella moaned, slowly pulling herself away from him. "I'll see you there. Be safe, okay"?

"Yeah, always. You too". With that, the two of them ran to the trucks, ready to face whatever their shift brought them.


	7. Chapter 7

6x21 one shot:

After Kelly kissed her and began to walk to his car, she suddenly felt like she couldn't let him go. Once again, she found herself running after him.

He heard her coming, spinning around and reaching out for her and she approached. He held onto her hips as she placed her hands on her shoulders. "What's up?", he asked. "Not that I'm not excited to have you chasing me down".

She rolled her eyes at him, not appreciating the mischievous look in his eyes. "Nothing. I just...we keep saying how we need to spend more time together, yet here we are leaving separately to go home when we could spend time together right now. Want to get breakfast together"?

He smiled brightly at her, opening the passenger side door of his car for her. "Of course, but I'm driving". She smiled up at him as she got in, watching him as he made his way to the drivers seat.

He pulled away from the firehouse, landing a hand to rest on her upper thigh as he made his way towards their favorite diner. She brought his hand between hers, not being able to help herself as she played with his fingers and laced hers between them.

Minutes later, they arrived at the diner, parking in the best spot they could get a few blocks away. They laughed at a story Kelly told her about a call squad had the night before, both enjoying the other's presence. She curled into his side as they walked there, trying to ward off the cold Chicago wind by using him as her armor.

They arrived at the diner, disappointed to see it closed for a private event. "Now what?", she asked, turning towards him. "Come home with me? I have some eggs, I promise I'll make you the best omelet you've ever had". She smirked at him, enjoying the sound of that.

"Okay, but can we just swing by 51 so I can grab my car"?

"Sure, but do you remember how to get back to my place? You know, since you went and moved out on me". He laughed at her expression as she punched his arm. "Haha, yes I still remember the way. I did live there for a couple of months, or did you forget about that"?

He leaned in closely, causing a shiver to run through her that wasn't from the winds. "Oh trust me, I could never forget about when I had you just a room away". She pulled him closer, kissing him deeply but pulling away far too soon for his likes. "Okay driver, bring me back to my car so I can get that omelet you promised".

They arrived back at Kelly's apartment shortly after a stop at 51, Stella letting herself in after seeing Kelly's car outside. She was surprised to see Kelly hard at work in the kitchen, with a variety of ingredients out on the counter. She knew he could cook from their time living together, but he rarely used the kitchen, relying heavily on take out.

He turned at the sound of the door opening, smiling at her. "So I went ahead and made one for you. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I figured spinach, feta cheese and broccoli would be good for you".

She couldn't help but laugh at how well her knew her. All the time they lived together, he must've been paying attention. "You guessed right. Thank you, this looks so good". She sat and began to eat while he finished making his own. They sat down together, enjoying having a meal together that wasn't going to be interrupted by bells going off, comments from other members of the house about the two of them sitting next to each other, or anything else.

After finishing, she got up to clean the kitchen but he stopped her. "Don't worry about that, I can do it later. Come lay with me, I know you're tired after all the calls we had last night". One look at him had her putting the dishes down and letting him lead her to his bedroom. "Only for a little bit, I do have to go home at some point".

Once they reached the bedroom, Kelly began to pull off his clothes while she stood watching. "Not that I'm complaining at the show you're putting on, but I don't think I should stay. I'm wearing jeans, and I really just want to be in my pajamas". He pointed towards his dresser. "Middle drawer on the right, look there".

She opened it, surprised to find a pair of leggings in her size and one of his old shirts that was her favorite one to wear. "Well you think of everything don't you"? She quickly changed while he watched, she could feel his eyes burning a hole in her back the entire time. Once she was out of her clothes and into something more comfortable, he patted the bed next to him.

She crawled into bed next to him, lying her head on his chest while he ran a hand through her hair. With anyone else, Stella would be wanting more but with Kelly this was all she needed. And despite how she told herself that she would only stay for a little while, she soon found herself curling more and more into his side and slowly drifting asleep.

Kelly could feel his eyes burning from pure exhaustion, he knew that he needed to sleep but he couldn't bring himself to look away from Stella if his life depended on it. With one final kiss on her forehead that had her gripping his shirt and him putting a hand on her hip and pulling her even closer, they both gave into sleep knowing that the other person would be there next to them the entire time.

Later that day, the two of them left bed and moved to the couch, sharing take out from their favorite restaurant and a 6 pack of Kelly's favorite beer while they watched a Blackhawks game before Stella had to be at Molly's. The two of them yelled at the TV over bad calls that were made and cheered with their Blackhawks won in overtime. As much as Stella had been looking forward to their date, somehow this was better. All she needed for a perfect night was Kelly, takeout, and a Blackhawks game playing on TV.


	8. Chapter 8

6x22 one shot:

Stella stood in her apartment, impatiently waiting for Kelly to arrive after he had spent the last few hours at Renee's house. She knew that he had to help, she would probably be doing the same thing if someone asked her to testify if it meant helping out fellow firefighters.

She just didn't like how much time he was spending with Renee and away from her. She knew it wasn't a competition between her and Renee, Kelly had just called her his girlfriend a few days before, but moments like this made her mind wander to what if scenarios.

Determined to not go down this road any further, she flipped the TV on and settled on the Cubs game. Just because Kelly wasn't with her didn't mean she couldn't still watch the Cubs like they had planned, she told herself. Soon she was distracted by the game and her earlier worries were almost out of her mind.

From across the room she heard her phone ringing, she hopped up and grabbed it from where it was charging by her bed. Not looking at who it was before picking up, she answered saying hello to the other person.

"Hey, what are you doing"? She sank into her bed, already in a better mood at the sound of Kelly's voice. "Just watching the Cubs. Bryant is a double away from hitting for the cycle, you're missing a good one".

She heard knocking at her door, but decided to ignore it figuring it was probably Hermann trying to rope her into helping control his kids. "Well you better let me in, I don't want to miss anymore of it". Dropping her phone on her bed and leaping up, Stella hurried to the door and opened it to the sight of Kelly standing with take out from their favorite restaurant and a 6 pack of her favorite beer.

She moved aside to let him in, looking at him questioningly. "I thought we were going out tonight?", she asked him. "I thought that after all the craziness of the last few weeks me and you could stay in". She smiled at him before kissing his cheek. "Well I'm not going to argue with that".

She moved to the kitchen to grab plates for their dinner as he opened two bottles of beer for them. Settling down on the couch, they enjoyed their take out, beer, and the uninterrupted company of each other. He told her about the trial, as he talked she could only hope it would be over quickly. He laughed at she told him about overhearing Hermann trying to control his kids after Cindy left for the night.

Only weeks ago they had both wondered if Stella moving out was the right decision, yet right now neither could deny how a little space apart only seemed to bring them closer together. After eating, both focused on the Cubs game, arguing when the starting pitcher was pulled for a reliever over whether or not it was the best decision and yelling at the TV when a runner was called out who was clearly safe upon replay.

After finishing a 6 pack between the two of them and watching the Cubs beat the Cardinals, Kelly got up off the couch and reached for his jacket. "Hey, where are you going"? Stella asked him while reaching for his arm. "I was thinking of going home since it's late and I barely slept on shift last night".

She frowned, clearly not wanting him to leave, but shook her head in agreement of him needing to go home. "Or, maybe if you ask nicely, I can stay here tonight". She slowly smiled up at him, batting her eyelashes at him. "Kelly, please stay with me tonight"?

He dropped down on the couch next to her, pulling her close and drawing laughter from her as he covered her face with kisses. "Okay, but only since you asked so nicely". She threw her arms around his neck, drawing him close and leaning in for a deep kiss.

Their playful mood from earlier was soon forgotten as she moved to straddle him with her legs on either side of him. He pulled her impossibly closer, moving his hands up her back until he pulled her shirt off, throwing it behind him. She pulled away from him, but only for a moment as she tore his shirt over his head.

He grabbed onto her as she held his back tightly, the pair moving to the bed. He tossed her onto the bed, quickly stepping out of his jeans while she worked her leggings down. She reached for him as he moved to hover above her, Stella greedily kissing him like she could never get enough. As her entered her moments later, she couldn't help but moan loudly as her back arched forward. She pulled him closer to him, sucking and biting his neck, wanting to show Renee and anyone else that he was taken.

Later on that night, Stella threw her legs over Kelly's as he dozed in and out of sleep. She reached over and ran a hand over his cheeks, laughing at him as he squirmed from being tickled. "Stella, go to sleep. I'm tired", he yawned to further his point. "No, I don't want to go to sleep yet".

He looked over at her, seeing that she was somehow wide awake. "How are you not tired? Truck and squad had almost the same amount of calls last shift". She shrugged, "I don't know. I slept when I got home this morning for a few hours, that's probably why".

He rolled over to look at her, smiling at the look of mischief on her face. "Let's play a game", she said. He rolled his eyes, she always was up to something. "What are you thinking"? She sat up, turning away from him. "Draw a number on my back with your finger. I'll guess it".

"Hmm, what do I get if you don't guess it"? She thought for a moment before answering. "If I don't guess then I have to do whatever you want for the amount of times of whatever the number is. If I do guess than you have to do whatever I want".

Suddenly Kelly wasn't so tired, thinking of all the things he would want Stella to do over and over to him. He reached up, brushing her hair out of the way and drew the number 7 over her back. She thought for a moment before responding.

"It feels like a one to me, but I don't think you'd only want me to do things only one time to you. So my official guess is 7". He dropped his head back in the pillow, surprised she got it right. "Okay, so now what do I have to do 7 times"?

She laughed at him, before laying back down and curling into his side. "I think I'm going to consider what I really want and cash in my prize at another time. Now I just want you to hold me". She was suddenly exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

"That's something you don't have to win a game to get me to do", Kelly responded, pulling her into his side while she reached out with her hand until she found his and laced their fingers together. Kelly covered her forehead and cheeks with light kisses as she did the same to his chest. They both fell into a deep sleep quickly, their bodies a mix of tangled limbs and Stella's hair spread over his chest.


	9. Chapter 9

6x23 one shot:

Kelly left the courthouse, fuming as he replayed what just happened in his head. Renee had always brought chaos to his life, and this was no different. He should've said no to her the second she walked through 51, but he couldn't say no to helping fellow firefighters. He reached into his pocket for his phone, turning it on. As it turned on, he read a text from Stella: "Good luck today! Tell me how it goes when you're finished."

He sighed, and couldn't help but smile as he thought of her. Stella, who trusted him as he spent time with Renee even when it was clear she couldn't be trusted. Stella, who had watched him fail to spend time with her over the last few weeks in favor of working on the trial with Renee and simply supported him anyway. Stella, who he would do anything to see right now.

He texted Casey, and shortly after received confirmation that truck 81 was at the house and not currently responding to a call. Kelly pondered going home and changing first, but decided that he didn't want to risk missing out on his chance to see her and headed towards the firehouse.

He arrived at 51 shortly thereafter, quick to park his car and head inside. He walked inside and saw that Squad was on call, grateful for less people he would need to talk to on his way to seeing Stella.

As he walked towards the common room, Gabby noticed him before anyone else did and nodded her head towards the bunk room. He nodded back as a way of saying thanks. He walked in and felt an instant peace at the sight before him. Stella was curled up in her bed, seemingly lost in a book at the moment.

Not wanting to disturb her, he stood in the doorway and watched her concentrate on her book. He saw her beauty every day no matter what, but in this moment nothing could've taken his focus away from her.

He began to hear voices outside, squad had just returned from their call. Cruz walked in, loudly asked Kelly how testifying went. Without looking up, Stella yelled back at him "Cruz, Kelly isn't here, so why are you screaming about testifying"?

"I'm right here", Kelly said, making his way to her bed. At the sound of his voice her head snapped up and her lips curled into an easy smile. "Hey you. What are you doing here"?

Kelly moved to sit next to her in bed, running his hand up and down her back. "As soon as I finished and heard that the case is being settled, I left to come see you. I wanted to see you and didn't want to wait until tomorrow morning".

Stella sat up to be next to him, bringing her hands to his face. "Then why do you look so upset? What else is going on"? He sighed, in that moment he was both grateful and frustrated at how well she could read his moods. He ran a hand through his hair in clear annoyance. "I'm going to be honest with you. Renee kissed me, I pulled away and left before she could even explain herself to me. I'm sorry, I should've never agreed to help her".

Stella took a moment to take some deep breaths before responding. "I do trust you Kelly and if you say that's all that happened I'll believe you and we never have to talk about this again. But if she ever tries to come back into your life again it's going to be a very different outcome". Kelly reached forwarded and guided her head forward so it was resting on his chest, and brought his arms around her as she did the same.

"All there is for me is you", he whispered to her reassuringly. Both wished nothing more than to stay in the moment forever, but the overhead bells calling Truck 81 to a house fire had Stella moaning and slowly pulling herself from his arms.

Before she could leave, he grabbed her arm and spun her around to him, landing a kiss on her waiting lips. "Be safe out there. I'll pick you up tomorrow and we can get breakfast". She smiled at him and nodded her head in agreement, then turned and ran to the truck.

Kelly considered staying until Stella came back, but a conversation Stella had told him about that her and Cruz had a few days before about grand gestures had him thinking. With a new determination, he left the firehouse and headed back home. He quickly changed and threw things he needed into his overnight bag.

Luckily, Stella had given him a copy of her key in case of an emergency. At the time he laughed, reminding her that Hermann was less than 500 feet away. But now he was grateful, he wouldn't need to ask Cindy to let him in and answer any questions about his plans.

He arrived at her apartment, letting himself in, laughing to himself at the state of disarray Stella had left her apartment in. A few days ago she had complained that since she moved out she still hadn't gotten the morning commute down yet, more often than not she woke up too late and ended up rushing into work.

He made her bed, folded her clothes and put them away, and threw the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. After cleaning up, he looked around and considered what would be the best way to carry out his plans. He started by putting the flowers he got in a vase on her table, and then put away the food her got for the breakfast he was planning the next morning. He scattered some vanilla candles around the apartment, which he knew was Stella's favorite scent.

After that, he heated up the take out dinner he had picked up and flipped around on the TV until he settled on the Cubs game. He couldn't help but glance at the clock frequently, willing for the hours to go faster so he could finally see Stella again.

The night came and went uneventfully for Kelly but was filled with calls for Stella and House 51. She had never been so grateful to leave work the next day and see Kelly leaning on his car waiting for her. He reached a hand out, opening the car door for her and started driving back towards her apartment. "Wait why are we going this way? I thought we were going to the diner"? He smirked at her, proud of his plans. "No, I thought of something better. Just sit back and relax, I have it all covered".

She closed her eyes and leaned her head on the window, giving into whatever plan Kelly had for her. Minutes later, they pulled up at Stella's apartment. She looked up, clearly confused. "You know this is my apartment right? I don't think there's a restaurant here unless Hermann opened a new business yet again".

He ran around to her door and opened it, helping her out. "Just trust me, Stella. Come with me". She followed him up to her apartment, shocked at the sight she saw when he opened the door for the two of them.

Kelly had made a full breakfast for the two of them, complete with muffins from Stella's favorite coffee shop, along with bacon and eggs. He also had enlisted the help of Cindy to light the candles just before they got back.

She turned to him, shock written on her face. "What? How? When did you do all of this"? He smiled at her, pulling her in and kissing her forehead. "After I left 51, I went out for everything and then came back here. I stayed the night and set everything up this morning".

"When I gave you an extra key, I wasn't thinking you would use it for this, but I'm not complaining". She hugged him close, gripping onto him as tightly as she could. He ran a hand through her hair with another hand secured on her lower back. They stayed like that for a minute longer, him pulling away with a kiss on her cheek.

"Come on, let's eat. I'm sure you're hungry after the shift you had". He pulled out a chair for her at the table, and poured her coffee made just how she liked it. She began to catch him up at the events of the last shift that he had missed while he listened.

After eating, she got up and grabbed his hand and lead him to bed. She curled into him once he sat next to her, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I'm so tired", she yawned, "I don't think I got more than 2 hours of sleep last night".

He adjusted their position, bringing her to laying next to him. "Sleep, baby, I'm not going anywhere". She reached up, stroking his face. Neither of them had ever felt the need to be overly affectionate in previous relationships, but something about being together had both of them wanting as much physical contact with the other person as possible.

Once he felt her breathing even out and was sure she was sleeping, he slipped out of bed and got up to clear off the table and blow out all the candles. He loaded her dishwasher, put the extra food away, and wiped her table clean. Once he finished cleaning, he took a moment to admire Stella before slipping back into bed next to her.

Her beauty never failed to amaze him, but moments like this made him feel like he was hit right in the chest as he was overcome by her. Even in her sleep, she shifted to bring herself closer to him. He pulled her closer, leaving one hand to rest on her hip and the other to run through her hair. Before he knew it, he found himself drifting off to sleep too, despite not being at the firehouse the night before he didn't sleep well either, it just didn't feel right being in Stella's apartment without her beside him.

Hours later, Kelly woke up to the feeling of a something on top of him. In his half asleep state, he shifted around but stopped when he heard Stella's laugh coming from above him. He was convinced that her laugh could solve all of his problems if he listened to it long enough.

Not wanting to give away that he was awake, Kelly continued to breath deeply as he felt Stella lean into him. When she was close enough to him for her breath to tickle his cheeks, he opened his eyes and grabbed her hips, drawing more laughter from her as she squirmed to get away from him.

"Kelly, stop. You know I'm ticklish". He laughed at her, knowing she was ticklish was only more reason to continue what he was doing. She decided that distraction was her best bet to get him to stop, so she reached down and sucked and nipped at his neck. He pulled her down so she was flush against him, both sucking in a deep breath at the sudden contact.

Leaning in to him with all the emotion she was feeling, she kissed him deeply, pulling his bottom lip between hers. He responded in kind, running a hand through her hair with his other hand secured on the back of her neck. She pulled away a moment later, dropping her head onto his chest. Kelly ran a hand up and down her back, relieved to have finally reconnected after the last few weeks.


	10. Chapter 10

Kelly walked Renee to the door of the firehouse after they talked in his office and he agreed to meet her that night. She turned to thank him once more and brought a hand to his arm, while he was too well aware of Stella a few feet away looking on. He felt like he was finally at a point with Stella where they could trust each other, and he hated the idea of Renee creating distance between them.

He heard a door slam, and turned his head to see Stella walking away from 81. Walking towards her, he came up behind her and brought an arm to rest across her chest. She melted into him, feeling the tension over seeing Kelly and Renee leave her body immediately.

Leaning down, Kelly softly kissed the back of her neck in his favorite spot. Right below her ear, that was the place that would always have her shivering and begging for more. "Want to finish up our meeting from before? You know, the one we were in the middle of before getting interrupted"?

Stella wiggled out of his hold at those words, turning and heading towards his office with Kelly following close behind. As soon at they had the blinds down and the door locked Kelly had Stella pushed against the door. He picked up right where they left off, kissing her deeply as she pulled him closer.

Kelly all but ripped Stella's shirt out from being neatly tucked into her pants, drawing circles on her stomach while working kisses down her neck. She moaned and threw her head back, a reaction she commonly had every time Kelly kissed her like that.

She tried to pull his shirt over his head, but he stopped her before she was able to. She pouted at him, looking up at him with her big eyes that made him wonder why he had stopped her. "Kelly, I", she trailed off, feeling embarrassed at how needy she sounded. "It's okay, baby. We can't. Not now, when we could very well be interrupted by someone else".

She took a few deep breathes to calm down, realizing how right Kelly was. It was the middle of day during shift, not only was a bell likely to go off at any given moment, but any given one of their coworkers could walk in at any moment. He kissed her forehead before pulling away and laying down on his bed.

Patting the bed next to him, Stella quickly crawled in next to him and curled into his side. The narrow twin bed made it difficult for the pair to stretch out, but neither of them seemed to mind. Kelly ran a hand through her hair as she tightly held onto his other hand.

Due to a lack of calls for the next hour and the lack of sleep from the night before after a late shift at Molly's, Kelly soon felt Stella's breathing even out. A glance over to her confirmed that she was indeed asleep.

He told himself that he should get up and finish the incident report from the prior call, but the feeling of warmth that Stella provided and the way she held his hand close even in her sleep meant that staying in bed won out.

Kelly hadn't even realized that he fell asleep too until the sound of laughter woke him up. He slowly peeled his eyes open, finding Cruz and Otis at the end of his bed. Stella awoke a minute later, groaning at being interrupted in the middle of her nap.

Seeing Cruz and Otis, she frowned before burying her head in Kelly's chest. "Kelly. Why are they here"?

"I don't know. That's a great question". He looked at the two, waiting for them to answer. "Dinner is ready. Just wanted to let you two lovebirds know". With that, they turned and headed out the door, leaving the pair behind.

The two of them made their way to the kitchen, getting plates of food and sitting next to each other. Stella ignored the cat calling of the rest of the house over her and Kelly being found in bed together, choosing to focus on Kelly instead. Because that's what matter most to her, Kelly and building their relationship. Nothing else did.


	11. Chapter 11

6x17 one shot:

Stella found Kelly in his office at the end of shift, trying once again to reach his mother. She has borrowed his car and was supposed to pick them up, but when he texted her to confirm she never responded

"Did you hear from her yet"? Kelly shook his head, looking at Stella apologetically. "No, I haven't. I'm sorry, now you're stuck here with me too".

"Don't apologize. She probably just forgot to set an alarm, it happens. Sylvie offered us a ride, she said she has to pick something up near our apartment this morning".

With that, Kelly stood up and grabbed his bag. He held the door open for Stella, laying a hand on the small of her back as she walked out. "Want to get breakfast after we go home and get my car? My treat for not listening to you when you said we should've taken separate cars to shift yesterday".

Stella laughed, she had suggested that she drive her car so they wouldn't have to rely on being picked up. "I'll never turn down breakfast, but it's really not a big deal. Even if Brett didn't drive us I'm sure someone else would've offered".

They walked to the front of the firehouse where Brett stood talking with Dawson. "Hey girl, Kelly's Mom must've forgotten to set an alarm. Can we take you up on your offer for a ride home"?

"Of course! I have to pick up something for the apartment right by your place". Dawson said bye to the trio as they walked towards Brett's car, promising to see each other at Molly's the next night.

The ride home was short, Kelly offered Brett breakfast too but she declined, wanting to get home and get some rest before her Pilates class later that day.

They arrived at the apartment and hurried in out of the cold. Kelly told Stella to stay in the lobby and he would just run up quickly to grab his keys. She walked up with him, wanting to drop off her bag and freshen up before going out.

Kelly called out to his mom when entering the apartment, not prepared for the sight that soon appeared before his eyes. He turned around to leave his apartment, but Stella grabbed his arm and guided him to her room instead.

She closed the door and sat on the bed, watching him as he paced back and forth. After a few moments of silence she spoke up. "Do you want to talk about it"?

He stopped walking at the sound of her voice, looked intently at her. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say. The kid version of me would be overjoyed to see my parents back together, but I've seen what my dad can do. And my mom is finally at a good point in her life".

He stopped talking, sitting down next to her and grabbing her hand. She squeezed it back, trying to bring him some comfort. "I know this is weird, but maybe the best thing to do is go out and talk to them. And if you really don't want to do that, we can just pack a bag and leave for a few days. I'm here for you no matter what you choose to do".

He felt a surge of appreciation for her in that moment, as weird and awkward as the situation was she was still there. "As much as I would love to leave and just be with you for a few days, I think you're right. I need to go talk to them".

He got up to leave the room, but before he did he turned around quickly and kissed her on her forehead. She squeezed his hand, telling him that she had his back no matter what without even speaking.

She busied herself by unpacking her bag from work before repacking it with clean uniforms for her next shift. Stella was not always the most organized person, so she found that packing her bag as soon as one shift ended helped her to prevent forgetting anything.

A few minutes later Kelly returned, flopping down on her bed face down. She laughed softly, laying down next to him. He pulled her close to him, playing with her hair. She didn't push him, instead waited for him to speak first.

"It happened after breakfast. My mom said all these old feelings came rushing back, and it was like she couldn't stop herself. They both promise they haven't had any contact prior to my mom coming back here. They both seem happy, so I'm just going to let it play out and hope no one gets hurt".

"I think that's for the best. They're both adults, and you can't control what they do. Just please promise me you won't let it affect you". He turned over in the bed, pulling Stella into his chest. She sighed deeply, reaching up with her hand and gripping his shirt right below his heart. "I promise I'll try. Please be patient with me, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this".

She nodded her head in agreement, she would never give up on him. "How about we stop talking about your parents and instead we go get breakfast? And then we can hope they'll be gone by the time we get back and we can enjoy a great post work nap together".

He eagerly nodded his head in agreement, happy for an excuse to get out of the apartment. He stood before offering Stella a hand, pulling her into his side once she was standing. She rested her head on his shoulder, both of them taking a moment to brace themselves before leaving her room.

Luckily for them, Kelly's parents must've gotten the message and where back in Kelly's bedroom with the door closed. Stella grabbed her keys, grabbing Kelly's hand and guiding him out the door.

The two of them enjoyed breakfast at their favorite diner, Kelly soon ignoring thoughts of the chaos in his home and focusing on Stella instead. She made him laugh, squeezed his hand to bring him back to reality when he appeared to be distracted, and showed him that she was their to support him no matter what.


	12. Chapter 12

6x15 one shot:

After leaving the hospital, 51 had a quiet rest of the shift with only 2 calls that were quickly answered. Despite the quiet night, Stella tossed and turned in her bunk all night. She was all but counting down the minutes until she could go home while the end of her shift approached.

She hurried to the locker room as the next shift began to arrive, grabbing her things. As she left the locker room, she ran right into Kelly. He reached out and grabbed her arms, steadying her before she could lose her footing.

"Hey, I was looking for you. Want to stop for breakfast before going home? I just have to finish up some paperwork, it should only take about 10 minutes or so". She shook her head, just wanting to be home in her bed.

"Maybe another time. I didn't really sleep last night, I just want to go home and crawl into bed". Kelly could see how exhausted she looked, and was concerned over her making it home safely.

"Do you want to wait for me? We can leave your car and just come back for it later". She shook her head, turning and walking away. As she walked away she looked over her shoulder, telling him he would see him at home.

Stella all but sped home after that, needing to get away from the rest of 51. She loved her firehouse family, but after the close call during the shift she just wanted to be alone.

If she was being honest with herself, time alone wasn't what she wanted. Being with Kelly was what she wanted. There was a moment in the hospital where she was ready to fall into his arms, but the moment ended and their opportunity was lost.

She parked outside the building before walking up to her apartment, collapsing on the couch as soon as she walked in. She grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her side, using it to support her bruised ribs.

Kelly entered a few minutes later, smiling softly at the sight in front of him. He sat on the coffee table in front of the couch, seeing that she had drifted to sleep.

Not being able to help himself, he brought a hand to her cheek and softly caressed it. Her eyes fluttered open a minute later as she smiled up at him. Kelly's presence had a way of eliminating some of the stress she had been carrying around ever since the call ended.

"Hey. How are you feeling"? She sat up, allowing him to sit next to her on the couch. "I'm okay. Just still a little shaken up". He nodded his head in understanding, all the while resisting the urge to pull her into his side.

Silence overtook the room, neither knowing what else to say. Stella felt her emotions bubbling up, and despite taking multiple deep breaths tears were soon running down her cheeks.

"Kelly, I", she trailed off, not knowing what to say. Instead of saying anything else, she turned into him and brought her head to lie on his shoulder. She let out a sob when she felt him bring his arms around her and pull her into his side.

"Hey, hey. I'm here, it's okay. You're fine". Tears continued to run down her face for a few more minutes, all the while Kelly held her close and ran a hand up and down her back.

A few minutes later she pulled away, wiping away at her tears. He gently smiled at her, brushing her hair behind her ears before kissing her forehead.

She could feel the energy shift, and as much as she wanted something more she knew this wasn't the right time. They had rushed into things once before, and that didn't work out.

"Umm, I think it's time for me to go to bed. I barely slept on shift last night". Kelly stood up, offering Stella a hand and helping her off the couch. "Come get me if you need anything, okay? Just wake me up if I'm sleeping".

She nodded her head in agreement, slowly turning away and walking toward her room. He stood and watched her go, breathing a sigh of relief over knowing that she was okay. Maybe he couldn't hold her the way he wanted to all the time, but feeling her in her arms and knowing she was okay was enough for now.


	13. Chapter 13

7x02 one shot:

Stella held Kelly close to her, both of them needing the other person more than anything else in that moment. She could feel the way he tightly gripped the front of her hospital gown, just like she had held onto him so many times before.

After a few minutes of silence Kelly pulled back, quickly wiping away the tears that managed to escape his eyes. Despite being the one who had almost lost her life, Stella was the one to comfort Kelly. "I'm okay, I promise. I'll be back at work in no time".

"Stella, you could've died. What happened with your oxygen, did you not hear the alarm"? She shook her head before turning away from him, not wanting to tell him the truth. If he knew the reason she kept going was because of him, he would never forgive himself and she knew that.

"Hey, talk to me. I just want to know what happened". She turned and faced him, trying not to let her emotions take over at the sight of concern etched on his features.

"I heard it going off, but me and Herrmann were so close to you and that boy. I just thought I had more time, enough time to get you out. I just, I couldn't go back knowing you were trapped".

He sucked in a deep breath, Herrmann had said she was going for him but hearing it from her made his heart stop. "Stella, you need to promise me that you'll

never do that again. Without you, I have nothing. So you losing you doesn't help me one bit".

She looked at him with big eyes, feeling tears creep up that threatened to start falling. "How could I ever live with myself if I knew that I left you behind? You know I don't have any real family outside of 51, you are everything to me. The only thing I can ever promise you is that I won't leave you behind, not ever".

Kelly nodded his head in agreement, he knew this was one fight he wasn't going to win. "Can you promise me one more thing? When you're a little less out of it, we'll sit down and make Health Care Proxies. They almost removed your entire lung, and because they couldn't locate your family it would've been their decision to make. It doesn't even have to be me, just please pick someone you trust".

"Kelly, you should know by now there's no one I trust more than you. I've been meaning for a while to talk about this with you, after me and Otis were trapped I got scared. Even before we got back together, there would be no one else I would want making my decisions than you. I just know you wouldn't let me give up easily".

He smiled softly at her, the way she showed her love for him never failed to warm his heart. He softly ran his hand up and down her arm, and not before long her eyes were starting to close. She tried to fight it, forcing her eyes open every few minutes. He reached across, kissing her cheek before whispering to her. "Sleep baby, I'm not going anywhere. I promise".

With his words of reassurance, she was soon drifting off to sleep, her tight grip on Kelly's hand not lessening even in her sleep. He put his head down on the bed next to her, taking in every one of her features while thanking anyone who would listen that she was okay.

He sat there by her side for the next few hours, nurses filtering in and out to check on Stella. After she was signed out by the attending and a bed opened up, she was transferred to the surgical ICU. The nurse informed Kelly that they would need to meet him in the ICU after Stella was settled in her room.

"I'm going to go tell everyone how you're doing. I'll meet you in your room after they let me come in". She nodded at him before reluctantly letting go of his hand. He kissed her on her cheek before turning to leave. "Kelly, tell everyone I love them and appreciate their concern. But I'm not ready to see them today, I only want you".

He nodded his head in agreement before walking back to her one more time and kissing her on her forehead. "I'll see you soon, okay"? With that, he summoned up the last bit of self control he had left and turned and walked to meet the rest of 51 in the waiting room.

Everyone stood when they saw Kelly, anxiously waiting to hear how she was doing. "She's okay, awake and in good spirits. They're moving her to an ICU bed now. She sends her love to all of you". Everyone cheered at that news, moving to hug him.

"So when can we see her"? Herrmann looked at him with wide eyes as he asked. "Maybe tomorrow. She's exhausted, seeing you all would be too much for her tonight". They all nodded their head in agreement, understanding that Stella's rest was the most important thing right now.

Meanwhile, Stella had arrived at her hospital room. Two nurses greeted her, telling her that they were going to get her settled in the room. She took a few deep breaths before they pulled her over from the stretcher to her bed.

Despite how she braced herself, all she felt was pain take over her body. She felt her incision as she tried to take deep breaths, and started hyperventilating, feeling like she couldn't get enough air. One of the nurses grabbed her hand, asking her if she had any family. All she got out was Kelly's name, the other nurse leaving to go get him from the waiting room.

Kelly all but ran to her room when he was allowed in, and panicked when he saw her. She was breathing heavily, tightly grabbing at the sheets. Her nurse was right beside her, and her reassurances had calmed her but she was still gasping for air.

"Hey, hey I'm here. It's okay, baby. Just take deep breaths". Stella reached desperately for him, wanting to be in his arms. The nurse sat the bed up as Kelly lowered himself on the edge of the bed. As soon as Stella was sitting up enough, she collapsed in his arms. He held her close, hoping that she would start to mimic his breathing pattern and start to relax.

After a few moments, her breathing had slowed down enough for the nurse to leave the room, telling them she would be back later to finish the admission process and to call if they needed anything. Kelly thanked her before focusing his attention back on Stella.

She was now breathing normally, but he could feel her tears soaking through his shirt. He didn't say anything, just continued to hold her close and run his hand up and down her back. She pulled away a few minutes later, Kelly using his thumb to wipe away her tears. He didn't have to ask her what was wrong, Stella may be the toughest person he knew but getting hurt on the job like she did would scare any firefighter out there.

"So everyone sends their love to you. They wanted to see you, but I told them maybe tomorrow. I swear I saw a tear in Boden's eye when he heard that you're okay". She laughed softly at that, the love and support she got from her firehouse family was unlike anything else.

A few minutes later, the nurse entered to finish admitting Stella. Kelly was there through the night, holding her hand as she slept off the physical exhaustion she felt. He was there when she was transferred out of the ICU to a general surgery floor a few days later, pushing her to get up and walk everyday even when she was in pain and felt like she couldn't move. And he was there when she was discharged, bringing her back to her apartment and caring for her until she returned to work a few weeks later.


	14. Chapter 14

7x03 one shot:

Kelly pulled up to Med, quickly parking his car and making his way up to Stella's room. She had spent 5 days admitted in the hospital, which were 5 days too many in his opinion.

After checking in with security and taking the elevator up the 8th floor, Kelly walked to her room. He saw her nurse on the way, who told him she was ready to go and just waiting for a wheelchair to bring her downstairs.

He entered her room, pausing in the doorway to admire her. She was sitting in bed reading her discharge instructions with her hair in a bun, dressed in leggings and one of Kelly's old shirts. Yet he wouldn't have been able to look away from her if his life depended on it.

She looked up at the sound of him shuffling his feet, instantly brightining at the sight of him. Opening both of her arms up, he was quick to oblige by bringing her into him in a close embrace.

After a moment of holding each other, Stella pulled apart and kissed him sweetly. "Thank you for getting me. I can't wait to be home".

"I've been waiting 5 days to bust you out of this place, you're crazy if you thought I was going to miss my chance! I ran into your nurse in the hall, she said once the wheelchair gets here you're good to go".

After a few minutes, the transporter arrived to pick up Stella. She eagerly got in the wheelchair, happy to be leaving. The pair thanked the nurses on the way out as they left the unit.

Kelly pulled his car around to meet Stella, helping her into the car. She was feeling almost back to normal, but she still had pain in her surgical incision from time to time.

The two had talked the day before and decided that it would be easier for Stella to recover at his apartment. It was bigger, and had an elevator so she wouldn't have to deal with stairs every day.

After the excitement of being released and going home with Kelly, Stella found herself drifting off to sleep in the car ride home. Kelly kept one hand on the steering wheel while softly running his other hand up and down her thigh.

He pulled up outside the apartment a few minutes later, Stella now fast asleep in the passenger seat. He gently ran his knuckles along her cheek to wake her up.

After a few moments, her eyes slowly opened. "Are we home"?, she asked while turning to face Kelly. "Yeah, baby. We're home".

The grin on his face only displayed part of what he was feeling right now. His primary emotion was relief, but he was also angry. Angry that Dr. Choi and Dr. Rhodes considered removing her entire lung. Angry that he wouldn't have Stella by his side in the firehouse for a few more weeks.

And most of all, he was angry at himself for waiting so long to tell Stella how he felt about her. If he had lost her and she never knew just how much she meant to him, he never would've forgiven himself.

After helping her upstairs, Stella quickly settled in the couch with a pillow supporting her side. Kelly busied himself around the apartment until he heard his name being called.

"Hey. I saw the look on your face in the car. Talk to me, tell me what's going on". He sat down next to her where she grabbed his hand and started playing with his fingers, a habit she had started doing when she knew he was upset.

"I keep going over everything from that day in my head, and everything from the days before. I know you're okay, but I would've had a lot of regrets if something worse happened to you".

She opened her mouth to speak, but he gently shushed her before continuing. "I love you. So much. And I don't think I'll ever love anyone as much as I love you. I just need you to know that".

Tears gathered in both of their eyes as Kelly gently guided her into his side. She curled closer and closer into his side until she was sure there was nothing left between them before speaking. "I love you too".

Stella would've spent forever in that spot on the couch, but after a few minutes Kelly got up in search of her discharge paperwork. He wanted to make sure there wasn't anything important Stella needed to do to aid in her recovery.

After encouraging Stella to do her breathing exercises and dividing her meds up for the next week, he addressed her from the kitchen. "What do you want for dinner? I can cook or we can order, your choice".

"Ohh, can you make me your eggs? I've been craving them for the last week, the eggs in the hospital are terrible". He laughed at how eager she sounded before getting started on her dinner.

After enjoying their dinner together, Kelly put on a marathon of The Office. He grabbed a pillow and placed it on his lap before tapping it. She lowered her head onto his lap and grabbed his hand and brought it over her side.

The next day, Stella woke up in her favorite place in the world, wrapped up in bed with Kelly. She felt good, better than expected she would. Turning over in bed, she buried her head in his neck and threw her legs over his.

He woke up at the feeling of Stella wrapped up in him, instantly bringing a smile to his face. Clutching her side, he softly tickled her stomach. She laughed as she squirmed against him, before turning in and kissing him.

"Morning, darling. Did you sleep good"? She nodded at him, "yes I did. Better than I have in weeks. It even gave me a thought". He raised his eyebrows, her thoughts weren't always sane.

"Don't give my that look. It's a good idea, I promise. I was thinking we could go for a run? I want to capitalize on feeling so good right now". He thought about it, he knew she would go for a run either way. But if he went with her, at least he could look out for her.

30 minutes later, they were out the door and headed in the direction of the park. Normally Stella could run laps around almost anyone, but she knew she had to take it easy for the next few weeks. Kelly hung back, ready to go at any pace Stella was going at.

After running for about a mile, she slowed down to catch her breath. He stopped next to her, giving her water and running a hand up and down her back. "Do you think we could walk back? I'm just so tired".

"Of course. I'm right by your side, no matter what you want to do. Come here". He held out his hand to her, guiding her back towards his apartment. She held tightly onto him, content with any day that started with the two of them together.


	15. Chapter 15

7x08 one shot:

Stella left the firehouse at the end of her shift feeling exhausted. The last few weeks have been incredibly emotional, and the worst part was that Kelly seemed to think shutting his emotions off was an option. She had planned on catching him before leaving, but he was in Boden's office and she was too tired to wait.

She all but collapsed in her bed upon entering her apartment, only to be pulled out of her light sleep minutes later by the sound of her door opening. "Hermann, whatever lightbulb you need to change can wait until later, I promise".

"It's not Hermann, it's me". She snapped open her eyes at the sound of Kelly's voice, seeing him reluctantly standing by her doorway. "I hate how things have been between us lately. Couldn't go home without talking to you".

She sighed, getting up and walking to her couch. "Come here, sit down". He sat down next to her and it took everything within her not to fall into his arms like she's been wanting to do for the last few weeks.

"I don't know what to say to you. I'm trying so hard to be there for you, but you're making it incredibly difficult. I saw you talking to Foster outside of Molly's the other night. I'm happy you found someone to talk to, but at the same time I can't lie and say I wasn't a little hurt that it wasn't me".

Kelly tried to say something and pull her closer, but Stella shushed him and pulled away. She needed to get out everything she had been holding back. Getting up from the couch, she began to pace back and forth.

"I could feel my heart breaking when you were trapped in the fire the other day, yet you seemed like it somehow didn't affect you at all. You could've died Kelly. I saw the smoke turn black, and I thought I was going to have to go in and pull your body out from the rubble. I know our lives and jobs are far from ordinary and I could lose you any day, but I hate feeling like I'm losing you even after you escape the close calls".

Stella stopped pacing at this point, turning and staring at Kelly with unshed tears in her big eyes. He reached for her, she now let him grab her hand and guide her to standing in front of where he sat on the couch.

"Baby. I'm so sorry. The last few weeks have been hell, yet I choose to turn away from you, the only good thing in my life. You've been nothing but supportive, and I've been nothing but closed off to you. Please forgive me".

"Kelly, I understand that what you're going through is extremely difficult. You can apologize to me all you want, but I have to see you making more of an effort before I can forgive you". He nodded his head in agreement, she deserved that at least. So he decided that right then and there would be the start of him making an effort.

"I went and saw my dad a few days before he passed. Talked to him about the whole Grissom situation, wanted to see if he could help. One of the last things I said to him was that Boden was the father I never had. The look on his face after I said that haunts me. And it's not like we were close, he left me and my mom alone when I was still a kid. But someone I think if we were close this whole thing would be less painful".

Stella felt every emotion run through her at him finally opening off, relief that he felt like he could trust her, and heartbreak at what he's been going through lately. He tried to discretely wipe away a few tears that escaped, hating how emotional he's been lately. He stood from the couch, kissing Stella on her forehead before turning to leave.

"Wait. Don't leave". He turned around, surprised to here her say that. She was still mad and frustrated but she couldn't let him walk out her door. "I haven't been sleeping well, I thought it was my pillow, but I think I'm just missing you. Please stay". He grinned at her before crossing the room and scooping her up and throwing her over his shoulder. She laughed and squirmed in his arms, yelling at him to put her down.

He gently lowered her on the bed before climbing into bed next to her. He somehow felt lighter now, opening up to Stella had released some of the pressure he's been carrying around for weeks. And when she crawled next to him and lowered her head to his chest while throwing her legs over his, it was like all could be right in the world again if he let her in.

He layered kisses on her bruised cheek while she ran a hand up and down his body. He knew what she was doing, scanning him for any injury the doctors at Med had somehow missed when they cleared him after the chimney collapse. He didn't comment, instead he just let her do whatever she needed to feel better.

After feeling confident that the doctors at Med didn't somehow miss any injury Kelly might have, she turned more into him and curled into his side even more. He ran a hand through her hair despite how she would always protest, saying he would make her hair tangled. She didn't protest today, instead she sighed at the feeling of his hand gently massaging her head.

"We still have to talk more, because I'm still mad at you. But stay with me today and we can talk later, I'm off from Molly's tonight". He nodded his head, willing to do whatever it took to gain her trust back. "Of course, whatever you need. We can order in and stay in this bed all night long".

She responded in a tired voice, not even lifting her head from Kelly's chest. "As long as we can order from my favorite Thai place I'm yours all night long". He laughed softly before closing his eyes and giving into sleep.

Hours later Stella woke up, surprised to see Kelly still asleep next to her. It was rare that he wasn't the one up first after they had their post shift nap. She traced her finger softly up and down his cheek, wondering what she was going to do with this man. She loved him with all she had, but sometimes love wasn't enough.

He woke up to the feeling of her caressing his cheek and kept his eyes closed, not wanting the feeling to end. He knew the talk they were going to have was going to have to lay everything on the table, so if he could delay that for even one minute he would. "I know you're awake, you're not breathing as deeply anymore".

He sat up next to her in bed, leaning in to kiss her. She let it go on for a beat or two before pulling away. "Kelly, we still have to talk. It's not fair for you to distract me". He leaned forward again, bringing his forehead to hers. "Stella. Baby. Just promise me that we won't give up on each other". She took a breath before responding. "Never".

"I hate how I don't know what to say to you lately. Even when we weren't together, I always knew what to say to you because I could always read your moods. It's killing me not knowing what you're feeling". He shook his head in agreement, that was definitely a fair assessment of how he's been acting lately.

"Everyone at the firehouse keeps asking me how you're doing, and I don't know what to say because I have no idea. I don't expect you to pour your heart out to me, I know that's not who you are. But I do expect you to tell me what you're feeling from time to time. Losing a parent is usually a time when people turn to the ones who love them for support".

"Stella, I don't know what to say. The last few weeks have been hell. I feel guilty over how my relationship with my dad was, and guilty over putting my firefighters lives in danger because of spacing out on the job. But most of all I feel guilt eating me up and pressure building on my chest every time I push you away. It's like it's easier for me to open up to Foster than it is to you, because you mean to much to me for me to burden you with my problems".

"Kelly, that's ridiculous! Why is opening up to someone who loves you such a bad thing? You've been there during some of my worst times, when everything went to hell with Grant, when I almost died in the high rise fire. Having you there supporting me was the only thing that got me through those times and so many more. I just wish you felt the same way about me".

He realized there that not opening up to Stella over the last few weeks was hurting her more than anything else. She was the strongest person he knew, she could handle his emotional baggage. A thought flashed through his mind of losing her forever because of his emotional issues, and that killed him.

He dropped his head to her shoulder, clutching her shirt. Tears sprung from his eyes that he's been holding in for weeks, dropping down onto her skin. "Stella, I'm so sorry. I thought that not opening up to you was protecting you, but now I see how much I was hurting you. I can't live in a world without you, I just can't".

Stella could feel the walls Kelly had put up drop as he cried into her shoulder while holding her close. She cried softly while she held onto him, afraid that if she let go he would break into a million pieces. "I love you. More than anything and longer than forever".

Any chance she had of holding it together for Kelly's sake was shot as she heard those words. She began to openly cry as he shifted their positions so he was holding her. "I love you too, more than you'll ever know", she whispered into his chest.

He wiped her tears when she pulled away before gently kissing her. "Now for the most important talk of the night. What restaurant do you want to order from"? She laughed despite everything, knowing that as long as they had each other everything was going to be okay.


	16. Chapter 16

One shot 07x08 parallel universe:

Severide tried not to panic, but he could feel time running out. He was trapped under a chimney, Casey and Cruz doing everything they could to get him out. Casey had already sent Kidd out with a victim, which he was thankful for. He didn't want her to see what could very well be his last moments. He could hear Chief telling them they didn't have much longer, and Casey telling Cruz to go. "Casey. You need to go too. Tell Stella"

Casey interrupted him, "I'm not going anywhere. You can tell Stella whatever you want in a few minutes when me and you walk out of here alive". Kelly shook his head; there was no arguing with a determined Matt Casey.

He thanked himself for having the foresight to update his letter that was given to family members of fallen firefighters. For Kelly, it only made sense to write it to one person and that was Stella. She was his everything, and if he wasn't going to see her again at least the letter told her what he felt for her.

Outside of the house, Stella was beginning to panic. She trusted her Captain endlessly, but she was in the room and saw just how bad Kelly was trapped. The fire was raging on, and she knew they didn't have much time. All she could do was pray to anyone who would listen to bring Kelly out to her.

A moment later, the smoke turned black and the sounds of windows shattering began. Tears formed in Stella's eyes as she forced herself to look away from the house. She couldn't bear to see Casey and Cruz leave the house without Kelly right there with them.

Someone must've been listening to Stella's prayers, because a moment later Kelly walked right through the door with Casey and Cruz helping him. She couldn't hold herself back anymore, she all but ran to meet him on the front lawn. He embraced her back tightly, needing her in his arms now more than ever.

"Hey, I'm okay baby. I love you so much, today wasn't going to be our end". She shook her head in his chest while tears still streamed down her face. Boden approached them, needing to see for himself that his Lieutenant was okay. "Kelly, why don't you ride along to Med with the paramedics, get a once over to make sure you're okay".

He was about to argue until he glanced at Stella and saw the pleading look in her eyes. "I'm fine, really. But I'll go with them since they already have to bring the victim there anyway". Boden nodded his head in the direction of the ambulance, his way of telling him to go now. Kelly squeezed Stella's hand before going, both of them knowing they would have more time together once back at the firehouse.

An hour later, Kelly finally arrived back at 51 after receiving a thorough exam and getting the all clear and waiting for Brett to finish her paperwork. 81 was parked in the firehouse, having returned to the firehouse shortly before the ambulance had. Kelly headed straight towards his office, knowing that in all likelihood Stella would be waiting there for him.

He opened his door, the sight of him walking in bringing tears to Stella's eyes all over again. He had her wrapped in his arms in an instant, both needing comfort that only the other person was capable of providing. They remained like that for what could've been minutes or what could've been hours; both too wrapped up in the moment to focus on the time passing.

Stella was the first to pull away, taking the time to scan his body for any visible signs of injury and breathing a sigh of relief when she saw none. All of a sudden the events caught up with her and her legs felt week below her, she fell back onto the bed. He sat next to her, running a hand up and down her back to soothe her fears.

"Kelly, I can't begin to describe how worried I was about you. The sight of you trapped under that chimney", she trailed off, not knowing what to say. He kissed her forehead before addressing her. "I know, baby. I was worried too. But I'm okay, and all we have to do is get through the rest of the shift before we can spend 48 hours in bed together".

She smiled softly at him, that was definitely an idea she could get behind. "How about we start that 48 hours in bed a little early and pray we don't get any calls"? Kelly smiled eagerly, times like this made him happy for the perks of a captain's privacy. He let Stella guide them into the bed; they had mastered the ability to curl up into each other in his small twin sized bed.

She held tightly to his hand while he ran a hand through her wild curls. No words had to be said, they knew they had just went through a close call and they were lucky to be together in that exact moment. Luck was on their side one more time that day, hours passed without any calls; allowing them to remind themselves that no call was more important than coming home to each other.


	17. Chapter 17

Stella and Kelly agreed to drive their own cars to 51, Stella would leave a few minutes before him. There was already a lot going on at the firehouse with the arsonist case being put to rest by the two of them, the last thing either of them needed was their coworkers to see the two of them arriving to shift in the same care.

She left the bedroom dressed for the day, stopping to kiss Kelly before leaving. "I'll see you soon. And after shift, we should talk. Come to my place". He smiled at her before kissing her on the forehead. "Sounds good. Be safe today, I'll see you at the firehouse". Pulling herself away from him with much difficulty, she turned and left for her car.

Despite telling herself that she wouldn't act any different today, she couldn't help the smile that kept appearing on her face. She was in a daze as she walked into the firehouse, almost running right into Foster who was standing by the ambulance talking to Brett. "Hello, earth to Kidd. You look like you're in your own world right now". Brett looked at her with concern, "Hermann said you ran out of Molly's last night. Is everything okay? I tried calling you last night".

Stella hesitated before responding, if she didn't tell the two of them about Kelly now they were bound to find out from someone else. "Everything is fine. More than fine actually. I lost service last night, I saw your call this morning as I was driving here". The two paramedics looked at her questioningly, waiting for more answers.

Before she could respond, Kelly walked in and instantly sought out Stella. He winked at her, she felt her cheeks heat up from that simple form of contact. Brett gasped, picking up the heat between her two friends. "I saw that! Stella Kidd, talk to us now"! She laughed, covering her face with her hands.

"Casey had me worried, he said that after the arson case wrapped up Kelly stormed out of their apartment without saying anything. I just had a feeling that he needed someone, so I left Molly's and drove to Kelly's cabin. He told me that I deserved someone better than him, and he was going to be that person. We spent the night on the couch together, and then we drove here early this morning".

Brett squealed happily, pulling Kidd into a big hug. She saw how much Stella still loved Kelly despite everything that happened, and how much the two of them deserved happiness. If Kidd was happy, Brett would support her friend to the end.

Foster was less happy, maybe it was the cynical part of her but she worried everything would fall apart again. In the short time she knew Stella she had grown close with her, and she didn't want to see Stella hurt again. But Stella was happy now, so she would be happy for her friend. "I'm happy for you Stella. If Kelly tries to hurt you again, I've got your back girl". Stella laughed, Foster was a fiercely loyal friend.

Kelly came over, not wanting to blow their cover yet. Him and Stella hadn't talked about if they wanted to tell people of their reconciliation yet, so he decided to act professional and see how she responded. "Hey Kidd, could I see you in my office, I wanted to finish up the arson case before officially handing it off to OFI".

Stella rolled her eyes, she knew he already handed the case off but was only trying to make up an excuse to get her alone. "It's okay Kelly, I already told them about us. Can't keep secrets from my girls too long". Kelly broke out into a smile, glancing around for any onlookers before reaching down and kissing the side of Stella's forehead.

"Hey, come on Lieutenant! Keep it professional"! They all laughed at Foster, she didn't actually care about the two of them showing PDA around 51. "I'm going to go put my stuff in the locker room before we get a call. Walk with me Kelly"? He obliged, following her happily.

Brett watched them walk away with a smile on her face, the idea that two people could find their way back to each other time after time made her heart soar. "I'm happy for her. Kelly has been making his way under her walls since she first came to 51 a few years ago". Foster smiled and nodded in agreement, Stella was a strong and independent person but when she was with Kelly things just seemed to click into place. Both girls knew bits and pieces of Stella's back story, and seeing her have someone she can rely on like Kelly made them happy for their friend.

After putting her things away in her locker, Stella turned and looked at Kelly. "So how do you want to do this? I know I just told Brett and Foster, but I don't want the news of us getting back together to spread through the house like wildfire". Kelly nodded his head in agreement, him and Stella still had so much to talk about before making any decisions. "I agree. We still need to talk, and we should do that before everyone else starts chiming in with their opinions".

Stella raised her eyebrow, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Kelly Severide, you want to talk? Are you feeling okay"? He laughed before grabbing her hand and lightly tugging her towards his office. She sat down on his bed as he closed the blinds. "No time like the present right? Let's talk now".

He sat down in his desk chair, purposely leaving some distance between the two of them. There were important things that needed to be said, and neither of them needed to be distracted. "Kelly, I love that you want to try and grow as a person, but please don't just do it for me. I love you, and I think that we both can try to grow together to make our relationship last".

"Stella, when I look back on how I treated you after Benny died I hate myself. Everything that happened between us was on me. I didn't trust you when I should've, and I pushed you away when I should've been leaning on you. Communication has never been my strongest trait, and I can't promise I'm going to change overnight. But I can promise I'll make an effort to be more open with you and let you in. There's no one I value more than you".

Stella could feel her heart clenching in her chest with every word he said to her. Only time would tell for sure, but it seemed like Kelly was willing to make an effort to keep their relationship strong. She got up off the couch and leaned on the end of the bed, Kelly guiding her between his legs by holding onto her waist. She sighed happily, everything was right for the first time in months. Leaning down, she softly ran a thumb over his jaw as he started deep into her eyes.

"Oh and Stella? I love you too", he said with a smile on his face. Before she could react, he pulled her down into his lap. Giggling softly, she rested her forehead against his shoulder. "You should still come to my place later. I know we talked, but we should make up for all the lost time". He kissed her forehead, happier than he has been since she ended things between them. "I'll be there as soon as shift ends".

Before things could progress between them, the sounds of overhead bells calling the entire firehouse to a warehouse factory pulled them from their trance. Kelly reluctantly released Stella from his grasp as they both got ready to start what would sure be a long call. "Be safe out there". She nodded in response, telling him the same. Both got ready to go face what was sure to be a hectic start to their day, but confident with the knowledge that they had each other to go home with at the end of the day.


End file.
